Security guards & gaming surveillance officers

Detailed Occupation

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2024 Workforce

994k

Average Age

42.3

Average Salary

$42,979

Average Male Salary

$44,323

Average Female Salary

$38,975

About

Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are most often employed by the Investigation & security services industry. The average yearly wage for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers was $42,979 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are NYC-Queens Community District 12--Jamaica, St. Albans, & Hollis PUMA, NY, NYC-Brooklyn Community District 5--East New York & Cypress Hills PUMA, NY, and Clark County (Central)--Greater North Las Vegas City PUMA, NV. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are Guayama, Salinas & Patillas PUMA, PR, Chicago City (South)--Chicago Lawn, Greater Grand Crossing & West Englewood/Englewood PUMA, IL, and Humacao, Fajardo & Islas Municipios PUMA, PR.

Photo by U.S. Department of the Interior

Service Occupations Protective service occupations

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Security guards & gaming surveillance officers workforce. Security guards & gaming surveillance officers workforce in 2024 was 993,825 people, of which 25.1% were women and 74.9% were men.

Security guards & gaming surveillance officers are paid most in Norfolk County--Brookline, Milton & Dedham PUMA, MA but are relatively concentrated in Guayama, Salinas & Patillas PUMA, PR.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

744,101

Male Workforce

± 21.1k

249,724

Female Workforce

± 12.3k

The Security guards & gaming surveillance officers workforce in 2024 was 993,825 people (25.1% women and 74.9% men). This implies an average annual growth of −0.721% between 2014 (1,001,047) and 2024 (993,825).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Maryland ($59,491), Virginia ($59,479), and New Hampshire ($57,713).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$42,979

AVERAGE WAGE

#357 in the ranking (2014)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Security guards & gaming surveillance officers earned an average of $42,979, $26,899 less than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2014.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.396

WAGE GINI

In 2024, Security guards & gaming surveillance officers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.396, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Security guards & gaming surveillance officers and on wages for those in the field. Investigation & security services is the industry that employs the most Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, by average wage, is Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals ($220,506).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

994k

2024 Workforce

± 24,397

0.043%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.47%

This graphic shows the share of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers employed by various industries. Investigation & security services employs the largest share of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers at 80.5%, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 6.74% and Amusement & Recreation with 6.58%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in the US. The workforce of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in 2024 was 993,825 people, with 25.1% woman, and 74.9% men. The average age of male Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in the workforce is 42.9 and of female Security guards & gaming surveillance officers is 40.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in 2024 was 993,825 people, with 25.1% woman, and 74.9% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 25 to 29 years (133,626 people), 20 to 24 years (127,392 people), and 30 to 34 years (119,514 people). Among them they concentrated 38.3% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 21.8% of Security guards & gaming surveillance officers workers were Hispanic and 78.2% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (48.3%), Puerto Rican (25.2)%, and Cuban (4.34)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2024, 41.9% of the Security guards & gaming surveillance officers workforce were White, of which 20.7% were women and 79.3% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (31.4%) and Two or More Races (13.1%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers is Protective Services but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Protective Services.

Among the necessary skills for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers, Active Listening stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Security guards & gaming surveillance officers need more than the average amount of Operation and Control.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Security guards & gaming surveillance officers in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Protective Services (32,463 people), Business (29,406 people), and Social Sciences (14,046 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Security guards & gaming surveillance officers workers were High School or Equivalent (374,375 people), Some college (284,613 people), and Bachelors Degree (129,174 people).

The graphic shows the Security guards & gaming surveillance officers workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Security guards & gaming surveillance officers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Security guards & gaming surveillance officers need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Monitoring, Speaking.